Updated 10:14 pm, Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Don Coats, Deputy Harbormaster of the San Mateo County Harbor District directs the boat as it motors out to the Mavericks with the United States Coast Guard to watch the practicing of rescue maneuvers, Wednesday Feb. 6, 2012, in Half Moon Bay, Calif. These rescues are done once a month to perfect their skills in rogue waves which have killed at least a half dozen people in Northern California.
Photo: Lacy Atkins, The Chronicle

Don Coats, Deputy Harbormaster of the San Mateo County Harbor...

Alexandra Picavet of the U.S. National Parks Serves, left, trades places with J.D. Wadkins of the California State Park Lifeguards to answer questions at a press conference on how to be safe around the ocean, Wednesday Feb. 6, 2012, in Half Moon Bay, Calif. Along with the U.S. Coast Guard and the San Mateo County Harbormaster the agencies meet with the media to promote safety around the rogue waves which have killed at least a half dozen people in Northern California.
Photo: Lacy Atkins, The Chronicle

Alexandra Picavet of the U.S. National Parks Serves, left, trades...

Members of the United States Coast Guard practice rescue maneuvers off the Mavericks, Wednesday Feb. 6, 2012, in Half Moon Bay, Calif. These rescues are done once a month to perfect their skills in rogue waves which have killed at least a half dozen people in Northern California.
Photo: Lacy Atkins, The Chronicle

Members of the United States Coast Guard practice rescue maneuvers...

Lt. Ian Culver, helicopter pilot with the United States Coast Guard answers questions at a press conference pn how to be safe around the ocean, Wednesday Feb. 6, 2012, in Half Moon Bay, Calif. The Coast Guard along with the United States National Parks Services, the California State Park Lifeguards, and the San Mateo County Harbormaster joined together to meet with the media to promote safety around the rogue waves which have killed at least a half dozen people in Northern California.
Photo: Lacy Atkins, The Chronicle

Lt. Ian Culver, helicopter pilot with the United States Coast Guard...

A few days after Thanksgiving, a family of three drowned trying to rescue their dog from the pounding Pacific waves near Eureka.

Four days after Christmas, a father and son fishing on a Marin County rock died after being washed into the water by a rogue wave.

And on New Year's Day, a Richmond couple walking with their pit bull on a Point Reyes beach were knocked over by a wave. The husband was washed out to sea, but his wife and the dog survived.

At least seven people have died on Northern California beaches this winter because they have underestimated the threat caused by storm-fueled waves, rip currents and chilly Pacific water, authorities said.

"The most recent drowning rescues we've had to do have been with local people, not tourists from out of town," said Alexandra Picavet, spokeswoman for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. "That's why it is especially important for us to get the word out."

Bay Area residents, accustomed to the power of the Pacific, often forget the rules of relaxing near the ocean, said Xavier Agnew, a lifeguard at Stinson Beach who has been with the National Park Service for 28 years.

"You never turn your back on the water," Agnew said. "Keep your children within reach of you at all times. Use the buddy system and know your limits."

And most important, never dive into the water to save your dog, even if it looks as if the animal can't make it back to shore, said Petty Officer Pam Boehland, a Coast Guard spokeswoman.

Dogs are well adapted for swimming and almost always manage to get back to land, Boehland said.

"I have good confidence that my dog will make it out of the water," she said of Rascal, her setter-spaniel mix who loves to frolic in the waves. "I don't have the same confidence about me."

Even a small wave can knock over an adult, said Jeff Wadkins, a state parks lifeguard. The wave that dragged 59-year-old Charles Quaid out to sea from Point Reyes on Jan. 1 was just 8 inches.

For anyone on shore who sees someone in distress, "the first thing you should do is call 911 and keep your eye on the swimmer," Wadkins said. "That's the most important thing."

No one but a trained lifeguard should try to make a rescue, Wadkins said. He swims 10 miles a week, he said, and can still struggle in the ocean.

"Some of my most intense rescues have been when someone goes in to help someone else," Wadkins said. "That's when we end up having to rescue two people."